Metallica’s James Hetfield Speaks on Current State of Country: ‘We Don’t Give A S— About the Differences … All Are Welcome’

At Metallica's recent show in Edmonton, Alberta, singer James Hetfield took time to address the crowd in regards to what the world saw this past weekend during the Charlottesville protest. He spoke at length, letting the crowd know the band is not down for racism whatsoever.

Facing the crowd, roughly 20 minutes into the show (as seen above), Hetfield said, “Metallica doesn’t give a s—, all right? We don’t give a s— about the differences, okay? We care about the similarities. So the fact that you’re here — we don’t care who you voted for, what you do or don’t eat, we don’t care what color your skin is, what you do for a job. We don’t care what you’ve done in the past. What we do care about is the fact that we’re all together here, celebrating life with music. So for me, you are Metallica family. All are welcome. Are you with us?”

He later offered a “thank you" to "some of the craziest, most passionate, intense avid fans on the planet,” marking the end of their 2017 headlining tour with this livestream. Hetfield called the string of shows “another memorable and special summer run for us seeing so many new faces along with lots of old friends as you welcomed us back for our first tour of North America in over eight years,” adding, “As we near the end, we want to share one more evening with all of you.”

In a recent interview, James Hetfield spoke about what he liked about each of his fellow band members. Speaking about Lars Ulrich, he stated, "He does not take no for an answer. That’s good and bad when you’re a partner in a business. (Laughs.) When you sic that bulldog onto somebody else, it’s great. He’s really good at the big picture, where I can get stuck in details. He’s very into what a fan would love — he’s the biggest Metallica fan there is.”